I have been hunting since I was about six-years-old. Most of the game I hunted was small game like raccoon and other wild game. I first started deer hunting last year. I took it upon myself to find a place to hunt them, and with the help of my dad I was successful. His friend, Dan, gave me permission to hunt some land near his house. I didn’t have a stand of my own, so Dan let me use one of his for a few days. The first day I sat in the stand I saw a doe. I shot at her and missed. My heart was pounding so hard that I couldn’t keep my gun steady. I went out again the next day. I didn’t see anything until Dan got down from his stand to come and get me. When he arrived, 2 does came running across the field in front of my stand. A few minutes later, a nice 6-point buck appeared in the field trailing the does. We tried blowing our grunt calls, but the buck seemed to only be interested in finding the does, and paid us no attention. Finally, at about 100-yards, the buck came to a stop. I shot and missed by a mile. My heart was pounding even harder than when I had shot at the doe. This year we asked Dan if we could hunt his land again. He agreed. I decided to use the tree stand mydad had bought me. We set it up about 12-feet off the ground. I was afraid this wouldn’t be high enough off the ground, but knew I was better off than sitting on the ground.
Shotgun season came. Opening morning was very cold and windy. I sat motionless for about 3 hours before seeing anything. I caught movement off to my right, and turned to see 3 does running. I couldn’t get a shot at them because I had just had a scope installed on my shotgun, and I couldn’t seem to find them in my scope.
That evening, I went out again. This time I saw nothing. Sunday and Monday came with out any further siting of deer. I was beginning to get a little discouraged, thinking I may not get one this year.
On Tuesday evening, 11/21/00, I got to my stand thinking it was too cold and windy. I figured the deer would probably stay bedded down. At about 4:30 pm, I decided to get down from my stand. As I rose to my feet and turned around, I was shocked to see an enormous buck coming my way behind the stand. I didn’t even have time to get nervous. I just lifted my gun slowly, took aim, and fired. I got him, or at least I thought I had. I gave myself 10-minutes before climbing down from the stand.
After the 10-minutes had passed, I was exiting my stand when I saw Dan coming to greet me. He had seen a large buck that morning, and was hoping that I had gotten a monster for my first deer. He approached my stand and I excitedly recounted to him what had happened. We decided to get some flashlights to look for the deer.
When we got to the spot where I had shot at the buck, we found a lot of blood. Dan then said, “You got him, he’s here somewhere.” After he said that, I got even more excited. Together, we followed the blood trail, and after a short 35-yard blood trail, we found him. I could hardly believe this was my deer. He turned out to be a nice 14-point buck. Well, not just nice, but awesome! I was absolutely astonished about his size. I knew then and there, that I was "hooked for life."
There had been several people trying to get this same deer, but hadn’t got the chance. I felt very lucky. I believe there are three reasons I was successful in taking this buck.
1) My stand was squeaking for 3 days and my dad went out and fixed it for me.
2) Roger told me how to make mock scrapes using “Buck In Rut,” so I did, and the following day, saw evidence of buck activity in the area.
3) My dad said a prayer for me. It was something like, “God, please let this boy get a deer, he’s been trying so hard.” My dad fully supports me in hunting, and is the best person. He means the world to me.
I want to thank everyone who has helped me throughout my great season. I also want to thank the Primos Hunting Team for all you time and patience, and all your hunting tips. Also, if you are a hunter, and have yet to kill your first deer, just take your time and don’t move. Patience will pay off in the long run.
maybe this is a stupid question from someone who is new to hunting, but why were you using a shotgun to hunt deer, and why was there a scope on your shotgun?
Re: uhhh
Hunting in Indiana for Deer is Shotgun or Muzzleloader (Which has their own seperate seasons). I also use a bow, which I got my 11 pointer with this year. I have all the arsenal so incase I dont get a deer in one season I can go onto the next, of which bow is my favorite. There was a scope on my shotgun becuase most people use one and I wasnt confident in my shot using open sights so I went with a scope. Whatever makes you feel comfortable, will help you bag that trophy deer!
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